A federal judge has put the brakes on a criminal probe of the Federal Reserve, saying it was part of an improper campaign by the Trump administration to pressure the central bank into cutting interest rates.
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell has described a Justice Department probe of the central bank as an attack on the central bank's independence. And a federal judge agrees. A federal judge put the brakes on the Justice Department's criminal probe of the Federal Reserve, saying it was part of an improper campaign by the Trump administration to pressure the central bank into cutting interest rates more aggressively.
Judge James Boasberg quashed subpoenas that had been issued to the Fed in January, ostensibly seeking information about cost overruns on the renovation of the Fed's headquarters. At the time, Fed chairman Jerome Powell had "The Government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President," Boasberg writes in a newly-unsealed opinion."There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas' dominant purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will."The judge quoted from some of the dozens of attacks President Trump and his aides have leveled at Powell for failing to make deeper cuts in interest rates. The case has become a test of the Fed's ability to set monetary policy without political interference from the White House."This ruling confirms just how weak and frivolous the criminal investigation of Chairman Powell is and it is nothing more than a failed attack on Fed independence," Tillis wrote in."We all know how this is going to end and the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office should save itself further embarrassment and move on.""He has neutered the grand jury's ability to investigate crime," Pirro said in a news conference after the decision was unsealed."As a result, Jerome Powell today is now bathed in immunity." Powell's term as Fed chairman expires in May, but Tillis, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, has threatened to block any vote onScott Horsley is NPR's Chief Economics Correspondent. He reports on ups and downs in the national economy as well as fault lines between booming and busting communities.KPBS keeps you informed with local stories you need to know about — with no paywall. Our news is free for everyone because people like you help fund it.Politics
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